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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: patient · stem · tear · wind · stick · craft · kid · lie

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. stem — to come from
  3. wind — moving air
  4. tear — from crying
  5. lie — to recline
  6. craft — a skill
  7. craft — boats
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. tear — from crying
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. kid — child
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. kid — to tease
  22. tear — to rip
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. wind — moving air

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com